The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer

My son, Vincent, posted this on his FB page, "Can the Middle Class Be Saved?, and it made a lot of things a little clearer, like when you have that "Ah hah" moment, thus it is today's post.

The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer? Is that right?

Dan Borchert

1. Last week we mentioned briefly, caring for the disadvantaged, this week we go in depth on that subject.

2. James is addressing the local congregation.

3. As it turns out they are not much different then we are today.

There are three points I would like to make today. And they all have power in him.

1. Power Ties

2. Power Pockets

3. Power Plays

To view this sermon visit Sermon Central.com

The Parable of the Rich Fool Study By: Hampton Keathley IV

The Point

Because we cannot take our material possessions with us, we should concentrate on storing up eternal treasures in heaven.

The Relation To The Kingdom Program Of God

Christ is going to be the judge in the kingdom. What started the whole parable? The question by the greedy man. He wanted Jesus to be the judge. Jesus says, “Who made me judge over you?” As if Jesus isn’t the one who is judge. Remember what Jesus said in 12:4 and 5. Don’t fear the one who kills the body, but fear the one who can cast you into hell. That of course is God. But God is going to hand all judgment over to Christ. But that is not yet known. Luke is hinting at it and will reveal it later.

If God is the king and we are the sons, then we are heirs of the kingdom and if we own the kingdom, then barns, grain and goods are such trivial matters. We don’t need to worry about earthly inheritances. That is the right perspective. It is so ironic that we lust for acres while here on the earth and God has kingdoms waiting for us in the future (cf. vs31). What a stupid investment to leave God out of my life and devote my time on earth to build up the very thing that God is going to use for asphalt in heaven - gold. Streets of gold. Get it in perspective. The asphalt of heaven.

The Principles

Don’t put your emphasis on material possessions because they don’t last. Like the guy who was walking back from the funeral and someone asked him, “How much did the guy leave behind?” And the man smartly replied, “Everything.”

Greed is wrong, but at the opposite pole, so is self-sufficiency or self-satisfaction.

If you define life in terms of money, you leave God out of the definition and you end up bankrupt. What counts is your relationship with God. Remember Jesus said in 12:9 just before the parable, “He who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.”

The rich man made at least four mistakes:

1. The rich man made the mistake of thinking he was the owner of his stuff when he was just a steward. We are just stewards of our stuff.

2. He was worried about the present and forgot about eternity.

3. He was concerned only for the physical and forgot about spiritual things.

4. He treasured stuff more than people. He lived an isolated life

This parable tells us how to define life. Most people define life in terms of material possessions, physical fitness or the future. This parable speaks loudly to our generation. Have you been defining life in your career, your house, your stock portfolio, in terms of what you can do physically, or the assumption that you will live much longer? What is going to happen when you lose one or more of those things? What happens when you get laid off? What happens when the stock market crashes? What happens when you get some disease which takes away your physical ability. What happens when you find out you only have six months to live? If you define life in these things, you will be devastated.

Having possessions is not wrong, it is putting your security in them that is wrong. The rich man is not condemned for being rich. He is condemned for being self-centered, for not using his surplus to help others, for leaving God out of his life...(Continued at Bible.org)

According to Martin Luther, greed causes unbelief, and unbelief causes greed. Luther took the fourth request of the Lord's prayer, “Give us today our daily bread”, as a call to shun greed. He also urged every Christian to undertake regular and earnest prayer against this dangerous vice. My prayer is that we would all seek first the Kingdom of God and his will for our lives. May we never be content in our relationship with God and always desire to be closer to him.

The Passage: Luke 12:13-21
The Message (MSG)

The Story of the Greedy Farmer

¹³Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance."

¹⁴He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?"

¹⁵Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."

^16-19Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.' Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'

²⁰"Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?'

²¹"That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God."

Other sources: Unmasking Greed ; A Matter of Greed ; Generosity vs Greed

God Uses the Speckled Person

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases …” (Psalm 103:2)

I would like to focus on a few words John Paul Jackson shared on one of his video's. God uses the speckled person when there has been true repentance. This may not be the exact quote but it impacted me years ago and has helped me with my renewed walk with the Lord.

God forgives all the speckled things we have created in our lives and uses them for His Glory, if we truly repent and desire to stay with Him the rest of our lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can clean us from the inside out and make us new creatures. Hallelujah!

As a drop of water ripples in the water, the sin of our lives can ripple into other peoples lives, so when God has cleansed us from the inside out, there is another work which needs done, the reverse side of the ripple effect. Through building others up in prayer or by acts of kindness we can reverse the ripples, sending out healing for the wounds made by careless words. Pray that the damage which created in others will also be repaired by the Holy Spirit.

When looking closely at your ancestors you can see some repetition going on with things happening in your life. Those ripples of sin were created long ago by generational curses from our ancestors and have been rippling down the family tree. If we do not stop that "River of Mud", the damage is continued to our descendants.

How can we stop this ripple effect? By calling on the Lord and using the equipment He has given us to tear down the spiritual wickedness in high places. Use His Word, the sword, and His Holy Spirit for discernment against the powers of darkness, and cover them with the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Taking that first step of faith and believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are now a child of God. Every sin was washed away with the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus and you were transformed into a new person. You have become a part of the royal family God. Being an heir to the throne of God you now have the privilege to use that power Jesus has given us through the Holy Spiritagainst All the power of darkness.

Some good books to read on this topic is the , "Deliverance Manual" by Gene and Earline Moody (free for use) and Bible-Knowledge.com.

Are You Too Sensitive?

"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." (Matthew 15:21-28)

1. Sensitivity is a wonderful thing as long as it is not misdirected. We should be sensitive to the physical and spiritual needs of others. We should be sensitive to our personal needs. It is a wonderful thing to see Christians sensitive to their problems.

2. There are many members of the church that are too sensitive. Many have quit the church because someone hurt their feelings. There are others who still attend, but they are no longer active in the Lord's work because someone hurt their feelings.

A. These people feel they are justified for their actions because their feelings have been wounded. Surely this is being overly sensitive.

B. Is it not being overly sensitive when one lets their wounded feelings place their soul in danger of being lost? This is the condition of all who quit the church or cease to be active just because sermons hurt their feelings.

3. Our feelings are like red lights on the dashboard of life. When we begin to become sensitive with jealousy, hurt feelings, a feeling of rejection these are red lights lighting up telling us that we have not got our lives properly focused.

4. Let us look at the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. Let us take the test that the Lord put her through and see how she reacted. Let us think about how we would have reacted.

I. The First Test.

A. A Canaanite woman cried: "Have mercy on me, O lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." The next verse says, "But he answered her not a word.

1. Does this not seem cruel? Was this not a time, if there was ever such a time, for someone's feelings to get hurt? Was this not a good time for her to have turned away and said, "Well, if that is the way you act, I will never ask you for anything else?"

2. What would most of us do if we should ask the preacher a question and receive no reply? Would not our feelings be hurt?

3. The chances are that we would quit the church. Many would feel that they would be justified in doing so. But would they?

4. This woman did not let the silence of Christ turn her away. Was she a woman without feelings? No, but she was a woman that needed something, and she knew that Christ was the only one that could supply that need. The life of her child was in danger and she thought more of her daughter than she did of her own feelings.

B. How many of us would pass this first test that Jesus put this woman through.

II. The Second Test.

A. The silence of Christ was only her first test. Most would not have passed the first test; and, very few would have passed the second test.

1. When Christ did not answer, his disciples struck at her feelings. They said, "Send her away; for she crieth after us."

2. Surely this would have been enough to send her away with wounded feelings. But, did she leave? No, her need was too great to let Christ's disciples stand in her way. She would not let them rob her of blessings needed.

3. Suppose you came to someone in the church and made a request and was ignored. Would you stay or leave? If you, like this woman, knew your needs and why you came, you would remain in spite of what they said. If you turned your back because your feelings were hurt, would you not be the one to lose?

4. Of course, God would not be pleased with the actions of any that would try to turn you away, but their actions would not justify your quitting.

B. If you should let even this cause you to quit the church, what condition would your soul be in? All that know anything about the Bible know that they would be lost if they quit the church.

1. Is your soul more important than your feelings?

2. To let even this make you forsake the church would mean that you were too sensitive.

C. We must desire to know the truth regardless of the obstacles that seem to get in our way.

John 8:31-32

D. We must remember that our souls are in danger, and Christ and the church are the only places where safety can be found.

III. The Third Test.

A. As if these first two tests were not enough the woman had more tests yet to face.

1. Jesus said to her, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

2. What would you do if someone should say the blessings of the Lord are not for you? Would you get all ruffled up and leave without them? Not this woman?

3. "Then she came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me."

a. How many of us could worship under such circumstances? We would get "mad enough to bite rusty nails" and refuse to stay much less worship. But should we give up?

b. Is it more important that we obey the gospel and serve the Lord in the church, or run home with our feelings hurt?

B. Our success or failures in passing a test such as these are indicative of our real desire to do what is right.

IV. The Fourth Test.

A. She had one more test to pass. Would it hurt her feelings and drive her away? Jesus said, "It is not meant to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs."

1. Not many of us would have carried the conversation far enough to hear this statement. But, what would we have done? What would you do if someone should call you a dog?

a. Most of us would think this would be enough to justify our getting to heaven without ever passing by the church again.

b. But this woman simply said, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat the crumbs." That is saying, "I know how unworthy I am; I do not ask for anything but the crumbs." This woman obtained the mercy she sought."

c. Was it worth it? It would have been so easy to let her feelings rob her and her daughter of the healing she desired and needed.

2. When we meet God in judgment, will we have let our feelings rob us of that plaudit, "Well done?"

B. We tell the world that we walk by faith, not by feelings. What are you walking by? Are you a quitter because you have had your feelings hurt? Are you walking by faith, even though your feelings have been hurt?

Conclusion:

"Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." (Matthew 15:28)

Franklin Camp (I am including this sermon that I outlined and adapted from a book titled, "Old Truths in New Robes", Vol. 2, Roberts & Son, Brimingham, Alabama. 1972, pg. 98-100 by Franklin Camp. I have outlined it and adapted it for my use in the pulpit. Although he has passed from this life, this sermon, I believe remains relevant because it reveals timeless truth, which is relevant for every age.)

Bits and Pieces of Sermon from Franklin Camp